Vancouver students will see their two-week spring break revert to one week next year if elementary teachers stick with their demand for greater compensation for on-call teachers, a Vancouver School Board spokesman said Wednesday.

“If we don’t get agreement, (the VSB) will return to a one-week spring break next year,” said Kurt Heinrich. “The (district) has a significant budget shortfall of $10 million. But by closing schools for five days, you save $500,000.”

Gerry Kent, president of the Vancouver Elementary School Teachers’ Association, said the dispute centres around fair compensation for on-call teachers, who don’t get paid during the two-week break but are required to work the longer school day that results from it.

Vancouver, which traditionally had one-week spring breaks, switched to a two-week break three years ago as a cost-saving measure. Other school districts have also moved to a two-week spring break to save money, lengthening each school day by about 15 minutes to make up for the lost time, with most of the money saved through reduced on-call teacher costs.

“We had an agreement we signed last year, but this year our members felt that agreement wasn’t sufficient,” Kent said, arguing the on-call teachers should receive pay that’s commensurate with their extra working hours, “probably 2.5 to three per cent.”

New Westminster and Burnaby both recently approved a two-week spring break for 2014, which means that all districts in Metro — except Vancouver, if it opts out — will have a two-week break next year.

According to a March resolution, the VSB agreed that if agreement is reached with the Vancouver Teachers’ Federation, the teachers’ union representing the elementary teachers, then the two-week spring break would stand for 2014.

But, it added, in a proviso: “Should an agreement not be reached by March 30th, 2013, the district will revert to a five-day spring break (March 24 to 28 in 2014).”

Heinrich said that agreement has not been reached, so the two-week break is no longer planned for next year.

He also noted that while the dispute is with the elementary teachers, secondary schools would also see their spring break cut back to one week from two.

“Right now, we’re hopeful that the union will reconsider and come back to the table, so we have our proposed two-week spring break,” added Heinrich. “We find the (two-week) break positive and hope this could continue. But it appears we’ll have a one-week break because we can’t get agreement with the union.”

Kent said that although the on-call teachers received improved seniority recognition and pension benefits for working the extra time that resulted from the two-week break, they didn’t get additional financial compensation.

“The board has said it won’t negotiate,” Kent added. “They want a rollover of last year’s agreement.

“We haven’t given up and continue to talk (to union representatives) about ways around it. But at this point, we haven’t been able to come to an agreement. We’re still hopeful for a two-week spring break, but with a slightly different agreement.

“We’re proposing that (on-call teachers) get recognition for working a longer day.”

Asked why the current agreement is no longer good enough, Kent said: “Last year, the agreement was signed under pressure and duress, because teachers enjoy a two-week spring break. That was the best agreement we thought we could get and we signed off on it. Since then, our members have said it doesn’t meet the needs of our (on-call teachers).”

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